Lamar Odom -- Serious Return to Basketball ... Or Cheap Publicity Stunt?!

Lamar Odom has just signed a deal to play pro basketball in Spain ... but there are serious signs the whole thing is just a cheap Spanish publicity stunt.

Fact: Lamar just signed a deal with a team called Laboral Kutxa Vitoria.

Fact: Laboral Kutxa Vitoria is ranked 9th out of 18th in its league ... and LAST in its Euroleague group.

Fact: Lamar only signed a 2-month deal, which will take him through the end of the season.

Smells fishy ...

Here's the deal ... the team wants Lamar because they hope he sells tickets since they suck and a playoff run is super unlikely.

But Lamar thinks this could be his road back to the NBA -- despite the fact he's essentially been shut out of the league due to his history of substance abuse and bad decision-making.

Example #1 -- It was just a few months ago a wasted Lamar made a rap video with a friend in which he bragged about cheating on his wife Khloe Kardashian.

Example #2 -- Even after he was arrested for DUI and struggling with sobriety, Lamar was hitting up bars and nightclubs in L.A.

Example #3 -- A delusional Odom insisted there was "great interest" from multiple NBA teams when in fact, no one wanted to touch the guy.